A Trip within a Trip

After discussing our prospective trip to Valle Elqui for what must have been over a month and almost backing out at the last minute, we finally did it! And let me tell you, it was well worth it.

Melanie, Anna, Chris and I set out Thursday morning "early," around 12:30 p.m. Less than an hour into our road trip, we pit stopped for roadside empanadas that were nothing short of delicious. 

After 8 hours of driving and a hectic grocery shopping trip in the last town before the valley, we arrived at our campsite in the dark. Starving and grumpy, our designated camping chef, Melanie, cooked up some choripan (chorizo suasage and bread, a staple in the Chilean diet) and we set up camp. Finally, we took a moment to look up, and saw the clearest sky full of the most vibrant stars I've ever witnessed. It was truly breathtaking. 

One chilly night in the tent later, we woke up to see our campsite in the full day light. We were pleasantly suprised with our surroundings. 

Alongside our wobbly tents we had set up in the dark...

After eating our leftover chorizo with scrambled eggs, we took on the small town of Pisco Elqui, a town on the far side of the valley. The valley is full of vineyards, but these grapes are not used for wine, they are used for the Chilean liquor, Pisco. It's a staple drink here of which, unfortunately, I'm not a fan. Of course, the first stand we ran into I bought the first necklace I saw. It is made with wood and has a citrine stone in the middle and I am quite pleased with it. The town was also full of murals, of which here are a few favorites.

We then headed back to the campsite to wait the arrival of two more friends, Renato and Peters, coming by bus. We helped them set up their tents then cooked a family meal and made a campfire. 

The next day we woke up hungry for an adventure in nature. We drove a bit outside of the town, picked a mountain on the side of the road and decided to climb it! Instead of describing the mountain and type of climbing we did, here's a picture of the mere first level we encountered. 

With more than a few breaks, we kept on and made it quite a ways up there. Along the way, nature rewarded our hard work with a small patch of grapes that we happily munched on. Near the top, we turned and soaked in the view from the top. Each of us found our own spots for some alone time, where I enjoyed my view, soaked in the energy from the mountain and let my thoughts flow freely through my mind for about 2 hours.

 The view

Renato's spot

We convened again and decided it was time to depart our mountain before the sun went down. This was arguably the best part, as we basically surfed and slid our way down the gravelly mountainside. 

Mel's dirty feet and the rocky slide

Before making our way back to camp, we set up the self-timer to take a team photo. 

Mel, Me, Peters, Anna, Renato, Chris

We made it back to camp, cooked and had a good night's rest before the ride home the next day.

The long awaited and poorly planned trip was a complete success and one for the memory books (as my dear mom would say). I left Valle Elqui with a sense of peace that I did not previously have.

Also, these photos are courtesy of Anna, Melanie and Chris. In additional news, according to the Canon store, I'll be back in business with my camera by Friday! 

Channeling the mountain,

Lauren Adele

P.S. I recommend clicking on the photos to enlarge them.